Visa Throws Its Support Behind Samsung Pay

Already an Apple Pay supporter, Visa announced it will also be putting its support behind Samsung Pay to enable its cardholders with the new Samsung Galaxy S6 to make mobile payments using the device.

The announcement was among the first from Visa and Samsung from the Mobile World Congress that kicked off in Barcelona this week (March 1) and runs through March 6. Samsung Pay is among Visa’s latest mobile payments option to help Samsung compete against Apple Pay. Samsung also recently announced it was buying LoopPay to help gain an edge in the mobile payments market. LoopPay uses its Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) patented technology to turn existing mag stripe readers into mobile contactless receivers and enables digital wallet users to use the technology at 90 percent of merchant establishments today.

“Working in partnership with Samsung, we are able to bring secure mobile payments to millions of consumers around the world,” Ryan McInerney, Visa’s global president, said in a company news release. “Combining Visa’s expertise in payment technology with Samsung’s global leadership in creating innovative mobile experiences gives more choice to financial institutions who want to enable their customers to pay with the new generation of mobile devices.”

With this new partnership, Samsung Pay is supported by Visa Token Service technology aimed at brining secure device payments. Like in the case of Apple Pay, Samsung Pay is able to use Visa’s technology to replace the 16-digit account number, expiration date and security code with a unique set of numbers when a payment is made. The technology enables a consumer to conduct a transaction without connecting the purchase to a specific account number.